


Can I try to guess?

by arielasdagger



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, right after episode 1x10, slight mention of abuse, they're going to the hostel, they're so soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 05:12:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13517292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arielasdagger/pseuds/arielasdagger
Summary: "No way Karo. Last time you drove we almost died. Let's keep your driving skills for when we're being chased by the police. I'll drive."Nico scoffed. "You sure?"Gert stopped picking at her fingers. "Yeah, I'm not tired anyway."Chase opened the door on the passenger's side. "Okay then, let's go before somebody notices us."





	Can I try to guess?

**Author's Note:**

> This is set right after the end of season 1. The kids steal a van and Chase tells them about this abandoned mansion where they can hide for a while.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: please forgive any mistake you might find, English is not my first language and even though I study it, it's hard to nail all those prepositions.

"Who's driving?" Nico looked at her friends.  
"I could-"  
"No way Karo. Last time you drove we almost died. Let's keep your driving skills for when we're being chased by the police. I'll drive."  
Nico scoffed. "You sure?"  
Gert stopped picking at her fingers. "Yeah, I'm not tired anyway."  
Chase opened the door on the passenger's side. "Okay then, let's go before somebody notices us."  
Gert got into the van and started the engine. The other runaways hopped into the back and laid down, blankets and clothes all over the van, Old Lace’s body beneath their heads. Soon they all fell asleep, and then it was just silence. The only noise were Chase's directions, whispered so carefully in order not to wake the others. Gert felt like he was telling a secret, something he was sharing to her only, although it was just the location of a missing mansion he said he did some research on a few years before.  
Once they took the highway, Chase looked outside the window. It was pitch black, no car around. They were leaving Brentwood, heading to another area of Los Angeles. He warned Gert about the exit she had to take, then closed his eyes for a moment. Finally, there was peace around him. They hadn't stopped for a moment since they fled, and this brief trip towards their next home felt like a reward for a war that was yet to be won.  
"Are you sleeping?"  
"Mh." He mumbled.  
"Sorry." Gert tightened the grip on the steering wheel.  
"Everything okay?" He asked as he opened his eyes.  
"Yeah, just - it gets boring you know, driving on the highway. I thought I could use some company or I might fall asleep."  
Chase glanced over Gert, analyzing what she had just said. Then he shrugged.  
"Okay, what do you want to talk about?"  
Gert pretended to think about a topic, but she already knew what she wanted to ask.  
"How do you know about this place we’re going to? I mean, you said you read about it on some conspiracy website but - to be sure it exists? And its position?" She waited for a reply and, when it didn't come, she added: "You've been there before, haven't you?"  
Chase sighed. He scratched his head looking down, but still no word came out of his mouth.  
"Can I try to guess?" She smiled. A little game could've lighten the heavy mood she had accidentally caused with her question. She had to fix it.  
Chase seemed to pick up on her attempt as he grinned back.  
"Sure. Let's see."  
"Okay. My first guess has to be that you brought girls there to hook up."  
"Is that what you think of me? Seriously?" He laughed, and Gert laughed back, trying her best to push her jealousy away. _Not now._  
"Okay okay, I had to try. So... maybe your jock buds introduced you to this place where you could smoke pot and get drunk?"  
Chase shook his head.  
"You're still far. Besides-" he winked at her. "We did that every weekend at parties, no need to drive this far."  
She fixed a wisp of hair that had fallen onto her face. He really did have some fun in high school, no doubt on that. While she was at home, torturing herself with her anxiety and self-esteem issues, he was out having fun with other girls and a lot of alcohol. Sometimes she wished she'd been bolder. But then again, she was not that type of girl, never been and never will. Although... although the only time she did go to a party was just two nights before, when Chase kissed her, and held her, and touched her, and... No. She had to focus. It was a dumb mistake, it was so obvious that he wasn't interested in her that way. Otherwise, he would've already said something, _right?_ Right.  
She cleared her throat. "Then, if you didn't go there to be with somebody, it has to be because you wanted to be alone. Did I get it right?"  
Chase clenched his jaw, his arms crossed on his chest.  
"Now I know why you're so smart."  
The unexpected comment made Gert change the gear too quickly, and the car jolted. _Great_ , she thought, _now he knows he makes me nervous_.  
In the back of the van Molly changed position and groaned.  
"I should be more careful." Gert admitted, forcing herself not to think of how red her cheeks were.  
Silence fell once again. It was awkward because both of them wanted to say so much, but neither wanted to bring it up with the whole gang there. Chase stared at her purple hair, almost black in all that darkness, except for some yellow shadows coming from the street lights. It looked so soft and he could still remember its smell. He wondered if she had always been that pretty, or if it was just the adrenaline of a new adventure. He turned around to watch the landscape outside the van. They were driving through the hills in the west area of the city, and the skyscrapers appeared so far away, like they were in another country, away from their parents and the police. He didn't want to go back, ever again. He was leaving his past behind, and nothing could make him happier.  
His thoughts were interrupted by a slight whisper.  
"Sorry."  
He tilted his head. "You don't have to apologize, just – if you’re tired of driving, say it."  
"No, not for that, for-" she took a long breath. "For your dad. Why you had to go to that mansion."  
Chase flashed a fake smile, probably the fakest he'd ever done.  
"It's not, he's..."  
Gert had her concern spread all over her face. She caught sight of her friends still asleep in the rearview. Chase followed her sight and sighed. He was tired of pretending that everything in his life was fine, because nothing was, and if there was somebody he had to be honest with, that was Gert. And the rest of the gang, _of course_. They were in that mess together, and sticking together was the only way to get out of it.  
 "Is it bad that I don’t want him to die? Even after everything he did?"  
"He's still your dad, right?" Her gaze shifted towards him and her eyes caught his. "If this whole crap has taught me anything, is that we're not defined by our genes. I'm not my parents, and you're definitely not yours."  
She had already drawn her attention back to the road in front of her, but his eyes kept lingering on her for a while.  
From the back of the van Alex grumbled something similar to: "We’re trying to sleep here."  
Gert and Chase giggled.  
"We better shut up now, or Wilder is gonna kill us." A smile tugged at the corners of his lips.   
"Yeah." Gert straightened her glasses.  
Chase curled up in his coat and, after a quick glimpse towards a still smiling Gert, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> wow I can't believe I was so thirsty for gertchase I went for it and wrote this one-shot. The wait for season 2 is gonna kill me....  
> As usual, come by my tumblr if you want to chat about runaways, same name as here :)


End file.
